GUEST COLUMN: The Herald Legacy

By: Gregory Lee Jr., Past Editor-in- Chief (1995-1996)

August 18, 2025

I remember it like it was yesterday. 

One day during my senior year as editor of The Xavier Herald, I walked into a courtroom with my fellow editor, Mary Webb. As we entered, Xavier President, Dr. Norman C. Francis, and another administrator looked our way with surprise. Dr. Francis turned to us as we were seated and asked how we found out about the case we were covering and whether we should be in class. We had our own sources, who shared the court date and subject with us beforehand and between the two of us, we had enough days to ditch class to cover this case. 

The court case was a tenure review of a professor and his scholarly work. It was a dull case, but that was not the highlight of The Herald’s coverage. That came when the case ended, and The Herald was preparing to post its front-page story.  

As we prepared to publish, we received word that we could not publish the story because Dr. Francis argued that since he was technically the paper’s publisher, it would violate the school’s confidentiality of the case results. 

It was the first time, to our knowledge, that a Herald story was censored. 

The Herald was often at the forefront of pushing boundaries on campus, covering controversial issues like religious demographics or exposing the inadequacies of health services. Our responsibility was to inform and provoke thought and, when necessary, challenge the status quo.  

I got called to Dr. Francis’ office many times. One conversation I remembered vividly. He would always note that in his past life, he was an attorney. He understood media, media law, and the like. So, he would challenge me on the stories we did on campus. During this particular time, I mentioned to Dr. Francis this school is known to be a science school. These students perform experiments in the lab every day. Like those students, the campus is our lab as student journalists, so we can prepare for careers in this field. If you don’t like how we do our jobs, perhaps the major should go away. 

That work and the work of my predecessors led Xavier to become the first HBCU to be enshrined into the Associated Collegiate Press Hall of Fame in 1994. 

Little did I know, those challenges on campus prepared me for my 30-year career.  

The lessons I learned on Xavier’s campus helped me craft a career in service, activism, and dealing with the challenges faces by people of color in America’s newsrooms. It was why I became a fierce journalist in the face of ensuring our stories were being told equitably.  

I challenged newsroom executives on why diversity matters in our building. It led me to become the President of the National Association of Black Journalists. This is why, despite our industry’s significant challenges, I continue to train the next generation of journalists to be storytellers. Today, our industry is facing unprecedented challenges. The First Amendment is on the line. Our freedoms are on the line. 

The Xavier Herald taught me how to face challenges and pursue the truth, no matter how difficult those stories were for me or the university. We, as journalists, must uphold the truth. If we are to confront the challenges of today, our university must support and arm our students to study to become the next Ed Bradley or Carol Simpson. Just as we were taught to face challenges head-on in the halls of Xavier, so must the next generation of journalists continue the fight for truth and equity. 

Gregory Lee was a journalist on the student paper from 1993 to 1996. He had a 30-year journalism career at the Times-Picayune, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, The Sun-Sentinel, The Athletic, and Front Office Sports. He is now a journalism professor at Loyola University of New Orleans.